No Longer Undercover
by ItsHayffieSweetheart
Summary: After years of living in Witness Protection, Nick Wilde thought he would never see Judy Hopps again. After a suspicious coincidence, the bunny moves into the house across from him. Everything would be perfect... if it were not for Judy's boyfriend, Nick's fiancee, or the enemies who are still after the pair. Will the pair stay safe from the criminals? Or will temptation intervene?
1. Chapter 1

(Quick Authors Note: This story is a sort of sequel to my previous story Undercover, but can also stand on its own, so feel free to read if you haven't already read Undercover, although I would love it if you did. I might take a while on updates because of college but I will do my best to bring everyone their fix of angsty WildeHopps. Thank you to everyone who has read my previous work, here's the long awaited (semi) sequel. Enjoy!)

Prologue: The Fox and The Vixen

Nick Wilde thought about the bunny every day. He reminisced about her laugh, her eyes… her lips. The fox missed her dearly, and it was hard for him to pretend that he didn't, especially with his fiancée fast asleep in bed beside him.

Nick and Judy had both promised to wait on one another, after Nick was forced into Witness Protection because of his undercover operation that both he and Judy were a part of. For the first year, he never put his cell phone on silent, he made sure his doorbell was working, he waited by the phone like a teenager waiting on their crush. Halfway into his second year of being in witness protection, he realised that he may never be able to return to Zootopia, and worse, he would never be able to see Judy again. That's why, after living a different life for four years, having to take a new job, new friends, and a new love life, Nick had decided that he couldn't pretend to himself any longer that Judy was going to come back to him. Or that he was going to go back to her.

His alarm buzzed on the bedside table, and the sleeping vixen beside him rolled over, and put her arms around the already wide awake Nick.

"Do you really have to go into work today?" She asked, not opening her eyes.

"You know there's nothing I'd rather do today than lie around and watch terrible reality shows on the T.V, but unlike you, I start work before the sun wakes up." Nick said softly, unwrapping himself from his fiancée's grasp.

Yawning, the vixen rolled out of the bed. "I'll make you some coffee babe." She said and then left the room with Nick still sitting on the edge of the bed. He really was lucky enough to have found someone like Victoria. She was pretty, had a good job, and was just a decent person all round. But he couldn't help feel guilty every time she told him she loved him. He loved her too, of course he did, but he didn't love her as much as he had loved Judy. He wasn't sure he'd ever love anyone that much ever again.

Victoria handed him a cup of coffee when he entered the kitchen, and Nick propped himself up on one of the stools. He could see the television in the lounge from where he was sitting, and he felt the burning sensation as he almost choked on his coffee. The T.V. was muted, but Nick recognised her as soon as he seen her picture, and all of a sudden his stomach was bursting and flipping over, until the headline appeared.

"ZOOTOPIA'S FIRST BUNNY POLICE OFFICER - JUDY HOPPS – KILLED DURING ROBBERY"

Nick fell backwards off the stool before his brain could process anything. He found himself on the cold tile of the floor, hot fur burning cold slab. Victoria hurried over and stood over him.

"Babe…? Babe are you okay?" She asked, bending down and placing her paw on his forehead.

Nick couldn't say anything, his eyes stung and his body wouldn't respond to his commands. He wanted to move, he wanted to turn the television up full volume and find out what happened. Judy couldn't be dead. There was just no way she would be stupid enough to be killed. She was smart and skilled and a damn good cop, she wouldn't have just died in a robbery. This had to be a ruse, there had to be some explanation.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed. You must be coming down with something. I'll phone the shop and tell them you're not coming in today." Victoria said, pulling Nick to his feet and looking at him worriedly, "Do you want me to call a doctor?"

Finally, finding some sort of control over himself once again, Nick shook his head "No… think I just need to lie down." He managed to say.

"Okay babe, let's get you to bed then. I'll make sure you get better." Victoria soothed.

But all Nick could focus on was how he'll never get better now, knowing she was gone. "Better" no longer existed for him. "Better" was Judy Hopps, and Judy Hopps was gone.

Chapter 1: The Knock at the Door

Weeks had gone past, and the warm sunshine swept over the window like a golden hand, waking Nick up before his alarm. He hadn't been sleeping much, and Victoria had been growing more and more concerned about her soon-to-be husband. She had never seen him so distracted. She had asked him several times if there was something really wrong with him. She wanted so badly to ask if it was someone from his past, like a family member. Although she was engaged to Nick, she didn't know much about his past. All he had told her was that it was bad, and he had to leave his old life behind. Not that she would ever confront him about it, but Victoria wondered if maybe he had had a bad childhood, or maybe had some sort of run in with the wrong people. She had her secrets too, and she reminded herself that it didn't matter, that he had made a new life with her, and her parents loved him. All he needed in the world was her, at least that what she told herself, but deep down she knew that there was still something he was searching for.

Nick called in sick again. Victoria didn't think this was the best idea, but she didn't nag at him. They didn't have that sort of relationship. They had promised to never get on at one another, to save them having to argue.

Nick had managed to drag himself out of bed, and sat on the sofa, watching the news channel. Outside, a truck noisily pulled up. Victoria peered out the window,

"Looks like the new neighbours are moving in across the road, babe." She said, hoping to get some sort of response out of him.

He gave her a weak grin, "Does this mean you're going to drag me over there with a casserole and say 'how'dy neighbour!?'"

Victoria smiled, it was the most Nick-like thing that Nick has said in weeks.

"That's exactly what we're going to do."

(Scene Break)

Nick couldn't lie that it felt good to leave the house, even if it was just to nip across the road. He was dressed, wearing a soft grey t-shirt, and Victoria carried a warm casserole in her hands.

"I wonder what they're like" Victoria said thoughtfully, "Maybe they'll be more foxes."

"Maybe." Was all Nick said. He was curious to who their new neighbours were, and he was hopping that they weren't loud or noisy animals, since the last family were a herd of elephants, and you could hear them getting up for the bathroom every night. He did find it strange, however, that the Ivory's had moved out so abruptly, one minute they were happily gardening, and the next they were packing up the moving van with grins on their faces. Mr Frank Ivory winked at him when they were leaving, and said something like "won't be too long for you now." Nick had assumed he meant getting married of having children, but sometimes Mr Ivory's statement kept him up at night... before thoughts of Judy took over.

Victoria knocked softly on the door to the house, the knocker still big enough for an elephant to use.

When the door opened, Nick nearly fell like he did weeks ago.

She felt the same, as soon as her violet eyes fell on the fox, her heart squeezed so tightly.

"Who's at the door, hun?" A voice said, appearing at the door and putting an arm around Judy Hopps.

Victoria held the casserole up a little higher, "Hi there, we're your neighbours. We thought we bring you a little something over whilst you get settled in, my name is Victoria Opulent, this is my fiance Nick Brute, we live across the road there."

The bunny, with his arm around the supposedly-dead-but-very-much-alive Judy, smiled softly, "Pleased to meet you. The name's Buck Hare, and this lovely ball of fluff here is my lady Jessie Zipps, but she prefers to be called Judy." He spoke with a western sort of accent, like he had lived with cowboys his entire life, and Nick winced at how painful his voice sounded. It was cliché and over the top and had to have been fake, there was no way anyone actually spoke like that.

"Well, it was really good to meet you, but I've got to get to work at the hardware store." Nick said, Victoria looking at him in surprise. He gave a quick glance at Judy, hoping she would get what he meant, "Hope to see you around." He said, and then taking Victoria by the elbow, pulled her away from their porch.

"You're going back to work?" She asked

"Yeah, being outside has made me realise I have been wasting my time, so I may as well go in and make a little money." Nick said. "I'm going to go there now, I'll see you later." Nick said hurriedly.

"Okay, babe." Was all Victoria could say and just like that, Nick was in his car and driving away. The casserole in Victoria's hands still warm.

(Scene Break)

"Well they seemed like nice folks, huh?" Buck said when they came back into the house, being careful not to step on any of the loose nails sticking out of the dying wood.

Judy's heart hadn't stop racing. She had dreamt about that moment for so long, when she could finally see Nick again. She had given up hope that it would ever happen, that she would ever see the fox she loved ever again. And she had never, ever imagined that Nick would just appear on her doorstep out of nowhere. Judy smiled, thinking that it was just like Nick to do that. He was so unpredictable.

It must be fate, she thought to herself. That she would be put in witness protection right across the road from Nick. Obviously, Nick must have moved in with his... his... The smile fell from Judy's face. His fiancee.

Behind her, Buck put his arms around Judy, pulling her close to him.

"Guess we'd better get back to sprucin' this place up then" He chuckled, pecking Judy between her ears and letting go of her.

Judy remembered what Nick had said about the hardware store, how he'd given her the look that they had used as partners.

MEET ME THERE.

Judy grabbed her handbag off one of the dusty sofas.

Buck watched his girlfriend's movements suspiciously, "Where you off to, honey bunny?"

"I have to go," Judy replied, bouncing out of the door before Buck could ask her where she was going so suddenly. Judy couldn't move quick enough as she hopped into her car and turned the key in the ignition. Her heart drummed in her ears as she pulled out of the driveway and drove down the clean street, her thoughts only on the fox that she had missed so much, and how badly she needed to feel his touch again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Park

Nick waited eagerly in the shop. Every time the door opened he looked up hopefully, his smile falling when he realised it was only a customer looking bits and bobs for their DIY projects. He helped them as he was paid to do.

As he waited on seeing the short bunny, he clocked a police car racing down the street outside, sirens blaring. He closed his eyes, remembering the thrill of the chase. He missed cruising around the city, pulling up animals who thought they could get away with speeding – the amount of times he had to write Flash a ticket was absurd – but there was nothing like it. There was something so freeing about doing good. Maybe it was because he had been so sleazy for so much of his life. Or maybe he liked it because he always had a certain someone by his side, fighting their battles together. He felt the familiar ache at the thought of Judy, having to remind himself that she wasn't dead, nor was she living her dream in the city. That she was a lot closer that she had been for so long.

Just then, the door opened, as Nick was about to give up hope on her turning up, he had been sure that she had forgotten about their secret signals. She had probably gotten a new partner as soon as Nick was forced to leave. She probably barely thought about him, right?

Judy could still hear the beat of her small heart as it thudded loudly in her chest. Nick was behind the counter, trying to look as though he was not watching the door to the tiny store. She smiled to herself, realising he hadn't changed one bit. He still loved to be the cool guy.

Nick wasn't sure what to do, now that she was standing in his place of work, sunlight hitting her fur, making her glow like an angel.

"Hi." Judy said softly, taking small steps towards the counter.

Leaning on the counter to stop him from falling and looking like an idiot, Nick grinned, trying his best to not look like every emotion he had felt for Judy was rushing back to him. Every hair on his body stood on edge and he realised he hadn't greeted the bunny as she had him.

"Hey there, Carrots." It felt so good to finally say her nickname again. They stood awkwardly for a moment, staring at each other across the small space that divided them. Nick wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to scoop her up in his arms and hold her close to him. But was he allowed to do that now? Now that she had a significant other? And now that he had a fiancée?

Not being able to hold herself back any longer, Judy sprinted forward and jumped over the counter, putting her arms around Nick and squeezing him tight.

Suddenly, she was home again. The last five years of her life dissolved, and she was cuddled up on the sofa in Nick's living room, with his safe arms around her whilst the world continued outside. Judy didn't want to open her eyes again, she didn't want to face reality, but she knew she couldn't stand there, in the cold store, clutching her ex-partner like he had just returned from the war.

Nick was warm for the first time in years. Feeling Judy on him was something he has fantasised about since their goodbye, and he felt the urge to pinch himself to see if he were dreaming.

Judy took was the one to break them apart, pulling back from the embrace as her desire to kiss him was overpowering, and if she continued to hold him she would not have been able to resist. When they pulled apart, Judy hopped up onto the counter and sat on it, making her eye-level with Nick.

Nick cleared his throat, his heart hammering at how cute she looked, at how she had barely changed over the years.

"So what brings you to this neck of the woods then, Officer Hopps?"

Judy quickly looked around herself at the mention of her name.

"First thing's first, you can't call me that anymore. I should probably explain." Judy said, violet eyes wide.

"Not here." Nick said, "The cameras pick up sound." He pointed at the corner of the small space, where a camera was positioned, it's red light flashing, watching.

"Oh." Judy said, looking disappointed.

"I go for lunch in an hour, we can talk then. Think you could meet me at the park in the centre?"

Judy frowned for a second, "Nick I've been in this town for all of three hours- "

Nick handed Judy a map, with the park circled on it in red marker.

"You just keep a map of the town with the park circled on it on you all the time. Where did the old Nick go?" Judy joked.

Nick looked down, suddenly embarrassed. "I bought that map the day I got here. I circled the places I wanted to show you when you got here." He said quietly.

Judy looked closer at the map, seeing small annotations and asterisks with notes saying "good restaurant" "interesting museum" "Judy would like this".

Feeling her heart melt, Judy looked at Nick, but he was rustling about with some of the stock, clearly trying to avoid eye-contact. Nick hated to seem vulnerable, Judy knew that, and this gesture had taken him being vulnerable.

"I'll see you there." Smiling, Judy made her way out of the store, even though she really didn't want to leave him, she knew it was what she had to do.

As she left, Nick took one last glance at Judy bouncing out into the sunshine, looking perfect as always.

(Scene Break)

Victoria had made her way back to the home that she shared with Nick, an uncertain feeling lying in her stomach like spoiled milk. Her home felt cold and empty, and she regretted taking a sick day to look after her husband-to-be, since he had so rudely abandoned her.

Something wasn't right. She could feel it. Nick had looked like a had seen a ghost the moment he met the bunnies, and it was typical of him to make excuses to get himself out of tricky situations. She began to panic, a voice loudly shouting in her head that Victoria truly knew nothing about Nick's past. She could be living with a criminal for all she knew. Of course, Nick had told her countless times that he just had a messy family past, and had come to the small town of Critter Ridge. He had mentioned that he had lived in the city for years and years, and when he left he travelled as far as he could. He was the first and only animal that Victoria had ever met from Zootopia, and she counted herself lucky to be marrying a native of the amazing city.

She tried to push the sickly feeling down, and Victoria told herself off for suspecting the one she loved of being a fraud after all this time. Maybe Nick truly was just better, and all he needed was a little fresh air. That must have been why he had acted so strange.

Feeling better about herself, Victoria went to the bedroom to make the bed, and noticed Nick's personal box sticking out from under the bed. He had tried to hide it at first, but when Victoria had clocked it in the back of the closet one day, he came clean, saying it was what he had left of his past, and he kindly requested that she did not look in it. Victoria was the one who had insisted that Nick leave it out in the open, so that he would know that she trusted him, and would resist temptation and respect his wishes.

But now, with the strange feeling in her gut, and the sudden emptiness she felt in her own home, she wondered if she really would be able to resist the temptation of looking in the box. Especially since she had noticed the way that the female bunny had looked at Nick. Victoria could swear that was the same look that she herself gave Nick. So, her main question was, why on Earth was a bunny looking at a fox that way? And worse, why was she looking at her fox like that?

(Scene Break)

Judy was seated at a bench beside the large circular pond in the park. A few cyclists whizzed past her while she waited. There seemed to be some sort of company picnic happening at the other end of the pond whilst the sunlight glinted on the murky water. It was peaceful, Judy thought, and she could see why Nick had picked it out for her. She was nervous once more, as she looked around herself, waiting for the fox to show up. A couple passed her, two otters wrapped in each other's arms. Judy watched them longingly, thinking of how she never really had the chance to experience that with Nick, and any attempt at dating after Nick had left had never been as thrilling or fun as it had been just to spend time with Nick. That's why, when she met Buck, they moved fast. They had only been together for six months when the incident happened, and she hadn't expected Buck to move so far with her. For some reason, he did. Well, not for some reason, Judy knew the reason, and it pained her to imagine settling down with anyone other than Nick. Buck desperately wanted children, and had been hinting for them to reproduce since the first date. She had told him to slow down, but she had never considered having children with anyone other than the handsome fox. And she didn't even want to entertain how that would be possible or how the children may look. She had even gone so far as to imagine adoption as a viable option for the couple, yet she couldn't even bring herself to imagine that for her and Buck. It was wrong, and she knew it was wrong. But she couldn't help the way she felt.

Finally, Nick appeared, a cup of coffee in each hand. He grinned as he plopped down beside Judy, handing her a warm cup.

"Hey" Nick said, seemingly cooler and more brought together than he had been earlier on.

"Hi" Judy said, taking a sip from the coffee.

"So, you mentioned that you have something to tell me?"

Judy took a deep breath, her ears flattening slightly, "Yes, yes I do."

And with that she delved into her account of the last five years, whilst Nick listened intently, watching as her lips curved and moved, breathing life into the story. While he was listening he couldn't escape the resurgence of his feelings, or the knowledge that he was still very much in love with the bunny beside him.


End file.
